Wit Beyond Measure
by SlaughterWhore
Summary: Desdemona Lestrange, the witty and cunning daughter of Bellatrix Lestrange, and Alice Cross, the equally clever and brave daughter of Andromeda Tonks embark on one final adventure after their lives have been forever changed by Lord Voldemort.
1. Alice

_Sitting in the farthest corner of her cell. Alice Cross attempted to calm her nerves by humming a few nursery rhymes her mother used to sing to her sister every night. It was strange really, being in a place that's so dark you can't see your hand an inch from your face. Alice shifted over and ran her hand against the stone wall to her left. She had been carving lines to represent how many days she spent there, however she quickly gave up, because she could no longer tell the difference between night and day. _

_She was locked in the small 5 by 5 prison 24/7. There were no windows and no slits to receive food from. Most of the time Alice wasn't even sure there was a door connected to the cell, it was as if the room had been constructed around her. _

_Closing her eyes, Alice began to imagine she wasn't in a cell at all. That she wasn't being held prisoner by Lord Voldemort. She wasn't going to be tortured until she died; instead she imagined she was sitting in the kitchen at the Burrow with her sister, Nymphadora, and that she was helping Mrs. Weasley knit a scarf for Ron while listening to Fred and George describing their first attempt at making Dung Bombs. Alice almost smiled at the idea of being warm and safe, almost. There was a force that prevented her from actually smiling, it was the same force that made her heart pause as the door to her cell swung open and a man peered in. _

_Alice froze as she recognized the man. " 'Ello beautiful. Miss me?" A chill ran up Alice's spine as the man known as Scabior smirked and pulled her from the cell. _

_All the while Alice screamed and thrashed about in his grip. "NO! PLEASE DON'T!" Scabior only chuckled as she tried to push him off of her. But she was much too weak, that's what happens to people when their starved and tortured for weeks. _

_Scabior smiled down at the crimson haired girl as he drew out his wand. Her eyes widened and her breath caught as he whispered his favorite curse "CRUCIO!"_

With a sudden jerk Alice sat up in her bed. Drenched in sweat she clutched her chest and took in gulps of air. It had been another nightmare. 'No' Alice thought as she wiped the sweat from her forehead with the back of her hand, 'Another memory'.

**Chapter 1**

I slowly sat up from my bed and groaned. I've been having flashbacks every night since I was rescued by the Order. In the end I had been at Malfoy Manor for three months, but it felt like years. Afterwards I was taken back to the burrow to stay with the Weasley's, and then Hogwarts was attacked. It was bloody like most battles, but somehow I left with only a few scrapes and bruises. I was lucky. My half-sister Nymphadora, however, was a different story…

Trying to push away the thoughts I glanced over at the nearby dresser and noticed a pile of books next to my pocket watch and wand. Odd, they didn't look at all familiar.

Standing I crossed the room and picked up the top book, "Numerology and Grammatica? That is very odd, ah, perhaps-" Sure enough after a moment of searching I found a neatly folded note. "Dear Alice, You were sound asleep this morning so I went and picked up your school supplies without you. We'll be leaving early tomorrow morning, so make sure you're well rested." I couldn't help but smile as I read Mrs. Weasley's words, "Oh and I went ahead and purchased you a pygmy puff".

The smile fading, I sighed and looked up at the ceiling, "Having a limbless pink ball of fluff delivering me mail, now that sounds grand."

Shaking my head I read on, "But Bill made me return it and buy you something he thought you'd prefer. I didn't want it to wake you up so I left it down stairs. I hope you're excited for your first year at Hogwarts, deary, I know you'll get along just fine. Love, Molly."

Laughing I set down the letter and pulled out some clothes for the day, "Looks like I owe you one Bill."

I don't know what I'd do without Bill. Well, to be completely honest, I do know. I'd be dead.

One night while sitting in my cell I heard two guards talking. It seemed some people recognized as Harry Potter's friends had been captured. Not even two days later the Order arrived and rescued the golden trio. It just happened to be the time for my daily torture session with Smiley McGee.

I remember hoping and even praying that they got away safely, then suddenly one of them met me gaze. It was Bill. He stunned the wizard who had unlocked my cell, grabbed my arm, and took off. It was a miracle. The Order even managed to retrieve my wand along with Hermione's and Ron's!

After slipping on some jeans and a blue blouse I walked down the stairs and was met with a loud ruckus coming from the kitchen. Cautiously I peeked in the doorway.

"I told you Fred, George; I don't want to see any more of those going off in the kitchen!" Mrs. Weasley shouted.

Fred and George stood before their mother with expressions that clearly stated this wasn't the first time this had happened, "Yes mum" the both mumbled.

I took the opportunity to give the twins a much needed break and entered the kitchen. Mrs. Weasley turned and smiled when she saw me. "Good morning, sweetheart!" She said as she gave me a tight hug.

"Good morning Mrs. Weasley. Fred, George." I nodded towards them and they grinned back.

"Mornin' Rose" Fred said, "We thought you'd never get up." I smiled and sat down at the table as Mrs. Weasley began serving up sausages with fried bread.

I loved the atmosphere here; it was comfortable and warm, much different than where i grew up with Mad-Eye. Don't get me wrong he was a great wizard, but he was more of the get-down-to-business-and-no-fluff kind of guy. No to mention the fact that the only time he allowed me out of the house was when he wanted me to tag along with him on Order business, of course that was the only time he "allowed" me to get out. I admit I had grown quite stealthy while under his care.

"Alice, dear, did you see my note?" Mrs. Weasley pulled me out of my thoughts as she began pouring glasses of milk.

"Yes, ma'am. Thank you for getting everything, I really appreciate it." Mrs. Weasley waved her arm in front of her as if to push away my thanks.

"Don't worry about it, it was no trouble." At that moment George walked back into the kitchen clutching a small cage covered in a yellow sheet. "Oh! Thanks for reminding me George. Here you go, Alice."

My eyebrows rose as George set the cage on the table in front of me. "Go ahead, open it!" he urged.

Staring curiously at the small cage I tried not to frown, I really hated cages. No creature deserves to be locked away in such a way. I personally know how it feels and trust me, it's not fun.

Reaching forward I gently pulled off the cloth and gasped as I saw a beautiful raven staring up at me. Mrs. Weasley put her hand on her hips and glanced down at the Raven, "I hope Bill knows what he's a talking about; he seemed to think you would hate to have a pygmy puff."

I smirked, Bill knew me so well, "I don't hate them, however I do prefer this." I reached out and opened the cage door, offering the bird a chance to stretch his wings. "I think I'll call him Edgar."

Mrs. Weasley looked baffled, "Edgar?"

I nodded and smiled warmly at Edgar, "Yes. Edgar Allen Poe. I think it fits him rather nicely."


	2. Desdemona

**Chapter 2**

Again, I've found myself in the wrong place at the wrong time. Well, mostly the wrong place, as I had been hoping I would finally apparate at least within seeing distance of the Weasley's burrow so that Ginny, Ron, Rose, and I could leave to get on the Hogwarts express as a group instead of my other option, which was to go completely alone. I don't know about most people, but train stations just scare the hell out of me.

Seeing as I ended up instead in a seemingly endless field of tall grass, I decided I was probably closer this time than the last failed seven attempts to apparate to the correct place. Lesson learned; don't try to apparate somewhere you don't know exactly where it is.

"Maybe if I just had an aerial view-" Smacking my hand to my face, I realized what I should have been doing all along. Why hadn't I just thought of flying around until I saw it? Morphing into my blackbird animagus, I took to the skies. It seemed like hours before I finally came across the burrow, and started to descend to the ground. As I drew closer, I saw George sitting by an open window, just asking for a certain mischievous bird to sneak up and scare him. Speeding towards the window, I found myself making the bird equivalent of laughter.

Fred pointed to the window and yelled something, but I didn't hear it. I just kept-

...

I felt a prodding at my side, and hearing Rose's laughter, I opened my eyes to see six faces staring at me. I sat up where I was laying, which happened to be on Ginny's bed.

"...What..?" Was all I could manage to say, my mind still waking up.

Fred and George laughed, and Fred said "I yelled to you that the window was closed! What are you, bloody Errol?" The twins, Ron, Ginny, and Rose laughed.

Molly Weasley gave a look of disapproval to Fred. "Oh, deary, it looks like you flew right into the window. Fred and George saw you, and when they went outside, you'd knocked yourself right out. Are you okay?" She pressed her hand to my forehead to see if I had a fever.

"Oh, uh, yeah. Erm... Hi, I guess, is what I should say, seeing as I've just shown up at your house. Th... Thank you, yeah. I was just wondering if... I... Can't remember what I came to say, actually. Gah." I struggled to say.

Rose, coming to my rescue, said "Well, were you coming so that we could all leave for the Hogwarts Express? If we don't leave now, we'll be late..."

"Yeah, I think that was it. But I don't think I have my..." Rose motioned for me to stop talking.

"Don't worry, I sent a note to Draco. He said he'll bring your stuff and give it to you there. Alright? Might we need to leave?"

Ginny and Ron, who hadn't said anything, both looked worried. "Wait... Today is September first? I don't have anything packed, I-" started Ron.

"Oh, don't you two worry. I have your stuff packed. Be off with the four of you!" Molly gave us all a hug before putting some powder in the fireplace for us to travel through.

Before we knew it, we were sitting in the train, waiting to arrive at Hogwarts, which had been being rebuilt since the battle. Around me sat Ginny, Luna, Neville, and Alice. I felt eyes staring at me, and turned my head to where I thought the feeling was coming from. As quickly as I saw them, they looked away, sometimes glancing back, but obviously talking about me. I guess I would have to get used to this, after it was let known to almost everyone of who my mother was during last school year, and students haven't been able to get over the fact that I'm the spitting image of my mother, except I'm lacking the insane look she often wears in her eyes. However, I've been told that I do have a similar look to my face when I'm faced with a puzzle.

A lot of people started not to trust me at all last year. They thought no good could come from the offspring of Bellatrix Lestrange. 'She's probably just as sinister, you know. I wouldn't go near her, let alone trust her with anything' were among many things they said behind my back, Luckily, I had redeemed myself nearly completely by healing the wounded during the battle at Hogwarts. I guess I saved many, but I never really stopped and thought about it. I've also never really pondered whether knowing a spell that, if used within three minutes of the killing curse, can reverse the killing curse could be dangerous. Of course, some people have thought of very creative reasons I should be put in Azkaban. None have them have worked, of course, but it looks like if I'm ever to truly be seen as good by people, I'll have to change my face or something of the sort.

"Des, you look lost in thought. Care to share what's on your mind?" Luna's soft voice brought me out of my thought-induced trance.

"Oh, nothing. Just noticing that people still can't let go of the fact of who I'm the offspring of. Or the fact that my face is, well, my face." I blew a dark curl from off of my nose and laughed, trying to hide the fact that I didn't find it humorous at all, only insulting.

"Why are you laughing? You find it insulting, don't you?" She always had a tendency to read right through me, Luna did. That's probably why she's my best friend; I can always count on her to keep me from lying to myself.

"No offense to your mother... Well, offense to her, no offense to you, you're pretty, I assure you, but I wouldn't want to look like her. Just because she's her, not because of what she looks like... Ah... Shit... I just sound like I'm insulting you further, don't I?"

"No, no, I get what your trying to say, Neville. And trust me, I completely agree." I gestured out the window, admiring the newly rebuilt castle as the train drew closer. "It's going to feel so different, like it has less history in it..."

"It has just as much history in it, now. It has our history in it, the fact that it's new is like a new beginning after the war..." Rose's words grew quieter as the rest of us stared at her, bemused.

"Well, isn't someone feeling poetic this morning!" Ginny laughed, fixing her Gryffindor colored tie, and gesturing to me that I hadn't tied mine yet, and that it only hung around my shoulders like a week shawl.

"Right, tying this thing might be a good thing to do as so I don't look a fool as I step in the dining hall, huh. Don't want to tarnish the name of Rowena Ravenclaw!" We all laughed as I tied a loose knot around my neck.

It feels so odd, walking towards my last year at Hogwarts. All my life, it's been the only place I felt safe, where I felt loved. And this was going to be the last time I see it. To an amazing last year at Hogwarts I thought, imagining myself clinking a glass with the people I loved, looking forward to whatever is to come.


	3. Arriving

I couldn't help but feel a bit left out as my friends spoke excitedly of their final year at Hogwarts. Mad-eye had homeschooled me since I was seven, but after his death I didn't have much time for school work, seeing how we could be killed at any moment. However, this year would be different. This year I wasn't an Auror in training, nor was I an Order member risking my life to protect Harry Potter. Nope, this year I was just a normal teenage witch.

In an attempt to pull myself away from the conversation I turned towards the window and looked out. For most people it would be much too difficult to see the evening's landscape beyond the glass window, however, most people don't have wolf night vision now do they? Ever since I can remember I had the ability to morph my body into a wolf. At first I thought I was a complete freak, but then I ran across a book about Animagus and it all made sense. I wasn't a freak at all! There were many Animagus' in the world, half of them unnatural, but Animagus all the same. However, I could easily understand why someone would break the law to become one of us; it's quite handy being able to quickly disguise yourself as a cat or bird. Of course my Animagus stood out more than most, so I couldn't exactly use it as a disguise on the streets of London. Tried that once, didn't turn out too well, not to mention the fact that Mad-eye looked like he wanted to practice the cruciatus on me when I got home.

I sighed and pressed my forehead to the cool glass, 'I sure miss him…and sis…'

Through the glass barrier I suddenly spied a dark form in the distance, leaning forward I realized it was a far off castle, Hogwarts. Adrenaline coursed through my body, 'This is it, this is actually happening!"

I glanced over towards my friends with a wide grin, "Looks like we're almost there." They all smiled at me nervously, seems I wasn't the only one who had butterflies.

Desdemona clapped a hand to my shoulder and whispered excitedly into my ear, "Isn't this awesome?" I nodded with a sheepish grin and she rolled her eyes, "oh please, you'll do fine, I'm sure everyone will love you!"

Searching through my bag I threw on my newly purchased Ravenclaw cloak, turning to face Des I raised an eyebrow "How do I look?"

Des smirked mischievously, "Sexy." We both chuckled and the train came to a much anticipated stop.

Neville stood and looked around nervously. I stared at him and couldn't help but notice his tie was crooked. Stepping over towards him I reached out and straitened it. He jumped a little and quickly glanced down at me with flushed cheeks, "Um, t-thanks."

I nodded and went to grab Edgar from the luggage shelves.

Luna glanced at the ceiling with wide, spaced out eyes, "My, there seems to be more Weezlebeedles aboard than normal. It must be because there's an increase of Quizerbrills running around." She continued to stare up until everyone had their bags and started stepping out of the cabin. I gently tugged on her arm and she looked at me with her head to one side, "This will prove to be a very interesting year."

"How can you tell?" I asked, but she just passed me and continued down the train's corridor, my eyes followed her until she was off the train, "Hmmmm, she is a strange one." Throwing my messenger bag around my shoulder I closed the cabin door and took off after my friends.

As I passed the last cabin I sucked in a deep breath, 'This is it, you can do it.' I thought. Clenching my fist I help my chin high and stepped off the Hogwarts Express.

As I stepped off the last step I was met with the most dazzling scene. The castle was a head of us on top of a tree covered hill; it was titanic in size and looked like nothing I had ever seen before. Many lights were lit inside and the castle itself seemed to penetrate the dark of the evening.

"Over here!" Desdemona shouted ash she waved me over towards the direction of the woods, "We need to grab a carriage before they're gone!" I hurried over to her and we continued into the woods on a dimly lit path that led to a dirt road. At the end of the path stood three black carriages led by skeleton like horses.

Without much thought I walked towards one and ran my hand down its neck, "Its funny that this is my first time meeting one of you" I whispered to the Thestral. "Considering my wands core is Thestral hair." The creature stared at me with its white eyes. I patted its head and climbed inside the carriage where Desdemona, Luna, Ginny, and Neville were waiting. As the carriage rolled on I couldn't help but notice the sick pain in my stomach. 'Damn nerves' I thought. 'You've fought death eaters and been chased by werewolves, yet attending school makes you nervous?'

A few moments of climactic silence followed until the carriage stopped at a large gate. This time I was the first to step out. As my foot touched dirt I had the brief sense of relief. That is until I glanced up and met the dark gaze of the infamous Severus Snape.


	4. A Glance at What is to Come

As we climbed out of the thestral-drawn carriages, the Hogwarts headmaster was awaiting us students, staring at the crowd of us with the slightest scowl. He always seems to have that expression on his face, the one that most people take as an expression of intense loathing, but I honestly doubt that that's the case. But, while I believe that his scowl is just a very unfortunate neutral face, I felt the unease of the other students who still weren't sure whether he could be trusted or not.

Staring from face to face, seeing varied raised eyebrows, wide eyes, and slight frowns, one person's nervousness caught me by surprise. I could tell by the slight squinting of her eyes that Severus Snape's presence greatly unnerved Rose. I gave her a little nudge and tried to make my most reassuring face, but all I could come up with was a week and unconvincing smile, which only caused her to look even more nervous.

"Don't worry, Rose. I told you, you don't need to be so... precautious. I mean, yes, being cautious is good and all, but a little bit goes a long way. " I tried to comfort her, but that was never really my strong suit. Being comforted was never really her strong suit, either, since she grew up with Mad-Eye always drilling into her that she should always be on high alert. His ways were a bit extreme if you ask me, but I suppose it's better that than him telling her to just trust everyone.

She gave me a tiny glare, then reminded me, "Well, I've always been this way. It always just takes me awhile to trust someone, you know that. And I can't just change now, even if the war is over. Anyways, there's always an aftershock to an earthquake."

I knew what she meant by that, being that it's quite possible, and quite likely, that there could be an uprising of the remaining Death Eaters. "Most of the... most died. Unless there's an army of closet Death Eaters, I'm pretty sure we're not in too much danger if they raged war again." I laughed at the idea of a closet Death Eater.

She took another nervous glance at Snape. "Yeah, I guess. That doesn't change anything, though. I still don't know that I can trust him. The whole time his allegiance was pretty vague," I was about to respond, but she cut me off. "I know you say we can trust him, but I'd like to decide that for myself first. You can never know!"

I rolled my eyes in the most obvious manner possible, trying to make sure that Rose saw my exasperation, but she was looking off to where I had pointed earlier at Ravenclaw tower. I'd continue this conversation later, before we go off to bed.

The mass of us started filing into the large main entrance to the school, then into the dining hall for the welcome back feast, to watch all the first years get sorted into their houses. Rose seemed very amused by it all, the decorations, each house's overwhelming superiority complexes, but most of all, the fact that she was actually part of a group instead of on her own.

"Oh my... Wow..." was all she was able to say, and we shared a glance and laughed at her, for once, lack of words to use in this situation.

I held up my glass of juice to propose a mini-toast with her. "Welcome to Hogwarts!"


	5. DADA

Stuffing my Advanced Potions book into my bag I hurried upstairs to Defense Against the Dark Arts. The first couple of weeks at Hogwarts had been a blast, the teachers were brilliant and the classes were amusing to say the least. It really was just as sis had described it: purely magical.

As I turned a sharp corner I nearly slammed face first into Neville Longbottom; however I side stepped him at the last minute and pressed myself against the wall. Unfortunately it would seem Nevilles were not equipped with breaks.

Gaping down at his crumbled form, I attempted to hide my amused smirk while extending my hand for him to take.

Neville's hazel eyes found my light-gold ones as he glanced up and gratefully took my palm. "Sorry 'bout that, Rose" he said "I got lost on my way to DADA and well…" His face was paler than usual and his hair looked like he had just woken up from a deep slumber.

"Correct me if I'm mistaken, Neville, but haven't you been going her for several years?" I asked.

His cheeks flushed even more, "Ah, yeah, but the stairs still get me now and then."

I chuckled, "Don't fret, Neville. I'm on my way to DADA as well, so we might as well walk together." He blinked and I raised my eyebrows, "That is, unless you'd rather venture on alone?"

Minutes later we were racing up the stairs and rushing towards the DADA classroom. As I stumbled through the door, a few steps ahead of Neville (naturally, I mean I am a wolf Animagus after all), I was met with the cold glare of Headmaster Snape. I skidded to a stop before him just as Neville tripped and face planted onto the threshold of the door.

"You are late Mr. Longbottom, Miss. Cross. That's ten points from Gryffindor and Ten from Ravenclaw." The classroom groaned behind Snape, but silenced immediately as he turned towards them, "Cease your excessive verbiage!"

I could feel my chest puff out a bit as Snape turned his gaze back to me, 'What a bloody prick!' As this thought passed through my mind I could have sworn I saw Snape's eyes flash dangerously in my direction.

"Get up, Mr. Longbottom." he edicted and Neville stood up stiffly, obviously stunned by Snape's unexpected presence. Then again, you would have to be a fool not to be.

A sudden step in the hall alerted my senses and I turned my head slightly to watch the Professor walk in "Now, now. Severus, don't be too cold to Alice, she's still finding her way here." Lupin said as he placed a scarred hand on my shoulder, as well as Neville's, "As for you Neville, I expect you to recall where my classroom is located. Take your seats now, class has begun."

I glanced at him wearily then crossed the room to sit next to Desdemona. As I took my seat she leaned towards me and whispered, "Nice going, it would seem you've already managed to get on Snape's bad side." Rolling my eyes I unbuttoned the latch to the wand holster at my side, momentarily peaking down at my 13 ½ inch red mahogany wand with Thestral Hair as its core, just in case Snape tried anything.

Lupin, now before the class, pulled his wand from his slightly tattered sleeve and pointed it at a nearby wall. With a loud CLICK the wall split and an ancient amore appeared. "As most of you will recall from previous years, Boggarts are shape-shifting creatures that take on the form of the viewer's worst fear. Today we shall review how to defend yourself against these creatures. Can anyone tell me the name of the charm used to defeat Boggarts?" With a quick shift Desdemona's arm shot into the air, I could clearly see Snape grimace in the corner near the door. "Yes Miss Lamprose?" Lupin asked.

"Riddikulus, sir." she replied with a confident air of knowledge.

"That's correct, take five points for Ravenclaw." Beside me Desdemona wiggled her eyebrows with a grin. However, I couldn't even register my annoyance with her action due to the butterflies thrashing violently in my stomach.

Never in my life had I shared my greatest fear with another soul, much less in front of an entire class. I could feel the color drain from my face and my palms began to sweat, but before I could ask Lupin for myself to be excused I found myself first in line before the leering amore.

No! my mind screamed. This can't happen, I can't be here, I can't see h-. In horrifically slow motion the door swung open and a leather combat boot stomped onto the classroom floor. My body became rigid and my eyes suddenly stung as I heard his all too familiar voice, the same one that narrated my nightmares, " 'ello beautiful".


	6. Boggart

There's always that one feeling of innocent regret that, unless you are some unnaturally lucky person, we have all felt. That rush of '_oh, I'm so stupid! Why didn't I do _that _instead!'_ Personally, I get that much more often than I would like. For example right now, as I'm watching Alice's eyes go wide with fear as she stares at the boggart. As much as the rest of the students knew far better than her that boggarts were relatively harmless, they still pushed her to the front of the line. I probably should have gone before her. She's already flustered enough, this being her first month of Hogwarts!

The voice that emerged with the shape-shifted figure was unmistakable: I'd heard it so many times before, always kissing up to Voldemort. To me, it was the voice of a cowardly man, but I cannot even imagine the pain that seeing and hearing something that looked so authentically like him would ensue on Alice. I ran in front of her, forcing the boggart to change shape again. It turned into a strange black mass. It refused to settle in one shape and just continued being a disturbed convulsing shadow before me. I didn't spend long looking at it, I just cast a spell at watched it transform into an explosion of confetti.

Alice fainted. I can't blame her, not one bit. There were no words: Professor Lupin nodded at me to take her to Madame Pomfrey, and that was the end of it.

I helped her up onto a bed (by now she had regained consciousness, but she was still a bit dizzy). Once she got onto the bed, she fell quickly asleep. There was an awkward silence for a while as Madame Pomfrey mixed some medicinal herbs together for Alice to take once she awakens.

"Miss Lampros? Do you still go by that last name?" she finally broke the silence. We had become quite the acquaintances over that last couple of years, where I constantly found myself in her infirmary. I had always been a bit clumsy, but I had also taken up the hobby of trying to invent spells, which rarely turned out the way I wanted. I also occasionally got into rather violent arguments with a couple of other students (luckily they're long gone from this school).

I thought about my answer for a moment, then decided on one that worked best. "Yes. And no. Here, I do. That's the name on my records, and they... The Ministry of Magic, told me it's for the better. For my safety, or something,"

"But don't most of the people here already know that it's a lie of a name? It makes it seem like you are trying to mask your identity as if you're plotting something," she said with a concerned look.

I gave a quiet chuckle. "Those are almost the exact words I told them. I asked if I could just be called by the name I was born with for once, and they refused, even when I told them what you just said. I guess until the end of this year, I'll be a _Lampros_."

"Which would you rather be?"

"Can't really say. I could take on my true last name, and be completely honest. But if I were to do that, many would despise me based solely on nine letters. However, if I went with what I have now, I seem equally suspicious, but this time for legitimate reasons. So, I suppose I'd rather have the last name 'Lestrange'. Or maybe I could change it to 'Le_normal'." _I laughed at the absurdity of the thought.

Alice stirred and opened her eyes, and looked a little worried. "Des, I could have sworn I just saw... I... It was him! I swear I just saw-" she stopped herself midsentence, then started a new string of words. "Damned boggart. Why did it have to turn into that? Into _him!_" She looked back up at me. I patted her shoulder to try to comfort her.

"It was fake. It's just trying to mess with your head. It wasn't him. It didn't turn into him: It was imitating him." I said softly as Madame Pomfrey forced her to take a large gulp of a rather repulsive looking green liquid.

She coughed in disgust at it. Madame Pomfrey gave me a little vial of it and told me if she feels dizzy again, to have her take it; and Alice grimaced at the idea. She let us leave, and we started walking back to Professor Lupin's room. Class was long over by now, but we needed to grab the books we left behind before going to potions.

"Hey, Des?" Alice asked timidly, "What was your boggart? It just looked like a strange sort of smoke having a seizure. What was it supposed to take the form of?" She looked at me quizzically as the door shut behind us and we walked back out into the hallway.

I simply said, "I don't know."

She scoffed at me and stopped walking. "What do you mean you don't know? It turns into your greatest fear! What's your greatest fear, you must have one!"

Again, I told her, "I don't know."

Alice sighed. "You don't know what your greatest fear is?" She looked exasperated with me, and I could tell by the look on her face that she found the idea of her sentence absurd.

"No," I drew out the word before continuing, "It's not that I don't know what my greatest fear is, and it's that my greatest fear is what I don't know."

She absorbed this for a moment, then gave a nod of taciturn understanding before saying on more thing: "I never want to see my boggart again."


End file.
